Too funny:
Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
Olympic-sized BSOD
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Apple Should Run China
Friday, August 8th, 2008The latest reports of Apple’s penchant for silently removing iPhone applications is quite disturbing. This should give any software developer pause before investing any time or energy in developing for the new platform. While I think that the concept of the iPhone App Store is worthy (having a centrally managed, easy-to-use repository for applications with easy installation and updates), Apple needs to take a step back and look at the message their actions are sending to their potential developers.
- Why is there an NDA required in order to use the SDK?
- Why can’t apps with “objectionable” adult content be distributed in the app store?
- Why can’t other app stores be created for those who don’t want to play by Apple’s rules?
- If any application could be capriciously removed by an Apple censor at any time without explanation, why would anyone choose to develop an application of any significance for this platform?
My message to Apple (not that anyone there is reading this) is stop censoring and stop lying. How hard is that? Apple is turning into a much more devious, untrustworthy company than Microsoft ever was.
A great Comcast rant (or yet another reason why Comcast sucks)
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008My fellow 4D developer Lee posted this awesome rant about Comcast.
Comcast customer disservice is the reason I switched to Dish Network, but alas I have to keep Comcast around for Internet (or settle for much slower DSL).
Chat Room OCD
Monday, November 12th, 2007It all started on that sunny February day in 2007 when I got my new car. No, not just a new car, but the most amazing, most technologically advanced, most soul-inspiring and most altogether perfect sedan that had ever been created by the hands of man! And how does any self-respecting Internet geek/gadget lover celebrate the acquisition of a new crown jewel? Why, he finds an online forum dedicated to the analysis of every nuance of the fresh hotness, of course.
Off I dashed into the Internets where I quickly discovered the perfect chat room/forum to complement my perfect new car. Behold www.clublexus.com! I found a site filled to the rafters with other Lexus LS460 fans and aficionados, many of them new owners like myself. We could freely exchange our thoughts on our new Japanese toys, share tips, and simply enjoy the virtual company of kindred spirits from around the world who were all as happy as clams with their new purchases!
Not so fast, kiddo. It turns out there aren’t very many happy clams in this world, or at least in online chat forums! A shocking revelation, I know. But the site that I first thought would be a utopian Lexus love-fest soon revealed itself as an obsessive-compulsive group of nitpicky whiners.
“Waah! I can hear wind noise inside my car when I hit 70 m.p.h.!!”
“Waah!! My 19-speaker stereo system fatigues my ears!!”
“Waah!!! Something about Lexus carpets collects more dirt than other carpets!!”
Waah, indeed! As the afterglow of my new car purchase faded and as I spent more time hanging out in this forum, I actually started to dislike my perfect new car. Every flaw, real or imagined, was endlessly dissected and opined upon by nameless, faceless avatars who had somehow accumulated thousands of posts to their names. I started noticing flaws in MY car as well. My fresh hotness began to look very old and busted.
That is, until I stopped visiting the forum. After a few days of virtual peace and quiet, a funny thing happened. I forgot about all those flaws and imperfections. The wind noise disappeared. My stereo began to sound lovely, thank-you-very-much. And God bless vacuum cleaners — they do a great job at removing dirt from carpets!
If only car sites were the exception, rather than the norm. I’ve found the exact same pattern in online forums dedicated to computer hardware, software, high-def televisions, and satellite TV systems. And that, my dear readers, is the difference between the OCD-afflicted computer geek and everyone else. Everyone else seems perfectly capable of relaxing and enjoying their lives and toys (imperfections and all). But we OCD nerds carry a bigger burden on behalf of the world, relentlessly pursuing perfection that will never be realized.
I think I’ve found my New Years Resolution.